The interesting thing about working for a production company like Showbizz is that you tend to shoot content at a lot of different places over the course of a month. You can either be in a studio, on a set, or at a location. In my first two weeks interning at Showbizz however I have not been able to partake in that privilege. For my first three shoots I have only been in a studio and all three have used green screens. I have learned that although I have not seen other aspects to this business there is some benefits to only filming one specific type of setting.
I have realized that filming in a studio has allowed me to really learn every aspect there is to know about lighting the space for each specific shoot, and I feel much more confident and qualified about lighting a studio in general. Without this repetition I feel I would not of been able to pick up and remember the key components there is to lighting in a studio so quickly.
As I mentioned in my first blog I re-learned the three point lighting techniques I was taught in BRC 235. I was still a bit hazy about the whole technique even after my first shoot. Looking back now after my third shoot I now completely understand every aspect of the key, fill, and backlight of three point lighting. The hardest part to master was the backlight, because the backlight makes the object your filming pop from the background and gives the shot depth, so it is very important in creating a complete shot. The hardest part about the backlight is to make sure light does not spill over the object you are filming and shine back into the camera. If this happens it will make the shot look white above the object because there is to much light shining directly into the camera. So in order to avoid this you need to put a shade on top of the backlight, almost like a baseball hat to focus the light down.
I also gained insight on how to properly light the green screen itself. It is important that the green screen has an even layer of light covering it. If it does not the green screen will have hot spots that appear white on the camera and not green. This can be very problematic because once in the editing stage it will not succesfully be able to chromo key the green out and you will have “holes” in the image you are trying to fill in over the green screen.
Even though I would of loved to see different sets/shoots and travel to other locations, I believe that shooting in a studio has given me a better understanding of lighting both in and out of the studio. Shooting in a studio is very basic and easy to control because you have no extraneous variables. All in all I am very happy with my first experiences and the ease that learning and shooting in a studio has brung. Now in turn, when it gets more challenging and difficult due to having to adjust to other factors I will be more prepared because I have learned the basics first.